Finished - Typhus... kinda

Stick a fork in Typhus because he is done. I'll do a better write up and pictures of him later. 

I say in the title that he is "kinda" done because I am realizing now how crucial the destroyer hive bit is to the overall feel of the model. With it, the model looks burdened and weighed down by the armor and parasites. Without it, the model looks stunted and hunched. There is also something about the horn on the helmet that looks odd without the hive to balance it out.

I am glad that I gave him a little extra height by building him up on his base a little to elevate him out of the sand. Without that, a standard termie might tower over him.

You may be asking yourself, "Self, why is there a Grey Knight hanging out with all these damn dirty heretics?" Then, if you were a smart person you would answer yourself, "That's because old Vurumai, crafty and cunning as he is, wanted to make sure he was consistent in how he painted daemonflesh."

Next up is the other CSM Rhino. I also need a infantry model to paint so I do not get bored with painting those vehicles. I think that I will try to knock out three Grey Knights in power armor. Check back in a few days to see how I am doing.

Hating on BoLS - Liquid Talent Revisited

You got no BoLS

From the tracking numbers, the last Hating on BoLS article was pretty popular. It is only 16 views behind the GK Overview which is the leading article at 143 views as of this date. The BoLS article even prompted my first anonymous dislike mail. I'd call it hate mail but it is rather hard to express a concept as complex as hate in 6 words and no clear attempt at punctuation, content or structure. I am nonetheless flattered (but I am also disabling anonymous comments at this time). I am hoping to make the "Hatin on BoLS" style posts a semi-monthly thing. Emperor only knows that they give me plenty to complain about and I am not the only one. 

Today our hate for the BoLS (pronounce it "bowls" or "balls" if you want to be a pretentious douche) is directed at Brent from Strictly Average and judging by this article, strictly average may be out of his reach. My critique, like any good offensive, is going to consist of waves. First, I need to outline my compositional objections to his writing "style". After that, I can address my thematic objections. I do want to make a section about his good ideas because there are several things that he talks about that I agree with.

FINISHED - Iron Warrior Rhino

At long last, that flippin Rhino is done!

"Pleased to meet you. Hoped you guessed my name."

I finished this a few days ago, but waited to try to get some good pictures for this write up and to post it on Cool Mini or Not.

When we last saw this Rhino, it was still missing its hatch and doors. I had not even begun to weather it either. After the failure with the Charadon Granite, I gave up on doing any sort of dynamic weathering on the silver parts. I settled instead on giving it a light drybrush of Runefang Steel (formerly Mithril Silver) and stippling Ironbreaker (formerly Chainmail) on the areas that got too much was on them. All of the shading on this model was done with Agrax Earthshade (formerly Dev Mud) by painting it in the areas I wanted it. You just can't dip a large model like this. I thought I was going to have to use some Nuln Oil (formerly Badab Black) but turns out that the Agrax Earthshade did the job pretty well.

Yellows

The yellow areas on the front started as Averland Sunset (formerly Iyanden Darksun). After being washed, I brightened them up just on the hard edges with Yriel Yellow (formerly Golden Yellow). This left some dirty spots on them but still made the edges bright enough to match up with the rest of the model.

Paint Propaganda and Patronization

I went into the local GW store (Which is fast becoming the CLGS) because I had a few hours to kill. I brought the CSM Iron Warrior Rhino to seal it (more on that in a later post!) and a few painting projects to kill time with. I brought my own brush because GW store has only crappy brushes for general use. What they have had is paint for use.

So I slide up the painting table and ask if I can paint something. The Black Shirt says that of course I can paint something. I ask where the paints are and he says that they have discontinued that service. I was a little shocked at this but I'll get to that in a bit. I then ask if there are some of the new paints to try out. He says of course there are (I should hope so since the GW Blog said that you could go in and try the paints in the stores. I ask to use those and the Black Shirt (Ayrec maybe) says that I can use them but I can not use them to paint my own minis. I can only use them on test minis they have.

Ok says I. Let's paint a Blood Angel. I was curious to see how the new reds work. He tells me they only have a red Base paint and a red Wash available to try. Not enough to do the full progression on the website. I then ask him if he has the conversion chart printed out to help me navigate the paints. He tells me that they are in the White Dwarf this month. I ask him to look at it and he tells me that I have to buy one if I want the chart.

You can use any paints you see except these.

That part kind of pissed me off but BS company policy can be what it wants. The thing that really sent me off was that the GW employee then sits down to paint with store paints. Granted he was working on terrain for the store but that was a little slap in the face. As if that was not enough, an off the clock Black Shirt sits down to paint right across from me and makes no move to share as I sit there with minis and brush with no paint. To rub salt into my wounds, the off the clock one then goes on a rant about moochers that need to buy their own paint. He buffers it with a "present company excluded" but that did not do much to soften the blow.

On the table now - Typhus and the boys

"Am I bad enough?"  "SHO NUFF! "

The interim infantry model of the moment is Typhus. The first thing that you may notice is that Typhus has no Destroyer Hive on his back. I traded for the model on Bartertown a while back. Everything went great but the mini was disfigured. Since we had traded, the guy gave me the monies to buy one myself. Not being one to gaze upon the endowment of a equine in the oral cavity, I took the money and painted this guy. To be fair, I told the guy that the mini being deformed was not a big deal to me but he wanted to make things right. Also, this guy is hard to find and $$$ from GW direct.

The Plague Marines in the background were finished long ago. I am using them as a visual guide to make the painting scheme consistent across minis. It has been a long time since, I've used these techniques, so I want to have something to cue off of. 

It is not like this is a particularly hard pattern. The green is Base Loren Green (formerly Foundation Knarloc Green) over a black primer. Then there is a a complete covering of Layer Warpstone Glow (formerly Snot Green) so that none of the Loren shows through. The metal is Layer Ironbreaker (formerly Chainmail) painted right over the green. With colors like green, it is not usually necessary to paint up from a black base color. The white areas are Base RaKarthFlesh (formerly Foundation Deneb Stone). Later I'll paint those areas up proper. I just wanted the black outline around them. After that the whole model was washed with Wash Nuln Oil (Formerly Badab Black) being careful not to let it pool in any areas. 

Then you walk away. Many a mini has been messed up by trying to paint areas with the wash still wet in places. One drop of paint into wash and the effect is ruined with no good way to fix it. I'll talk more about painting Typhus when I post the next picture.

145 Exposed: Revisiting paint and GW

"All we have is paints, paints, paints, paints, paints, spam, paints, paints and spam."

Remember back when I talked about GW's new paint and how they are promoting and releasing it? Well, no surprises. I get an email about it and GW's blog is lit up over what is essentially a re-branding of the same paint that Citadel has had for years. It is very much ado about nothing.

While BoLS felt content with what is little more than a picture and a blurb about the new release, we here at TMM hold ourselves to higher standards. I'm going to take a look at the information in the release and write it up longer and more properly.

The blog post over at GW is rather appalling. The writer(s) of the blog like to style it as a fan-written insider-yet-maverick perspective. It is designed to give a personal and human voice to what has historically been a rather detached and impersonal website. I do not know who writes this blog, but the tone is a departure from the fun and friendly style that has been shown most frequently. The post about the paints reads like an infomercial and was obviously written by someone trying really hard to sell you something. Through the post they use phrases that seem to pump up the value and importance of the paints while not really giving you specific ways where they are superior to the old versions.

This may sound like complaining or GWbashing and perhaps it is a little. More it is a bristling at the hamfisted selling techniques. The paints are new and exciting but you are going to sell them to me on merit rather than trying to make them seem like the second coming (form without function pissing me off seems to be a running theme in this blog).

GW also put out a video narrated by Timothy Spall, the fat guy from Harry Potter!

Below the jump cut, we'll take a closer look at all the paints.

Almost finished - IW Rhino

Rhino is coming along. Pretty much done except for the doors and the top hatch. The doors are almost finished. I decided to mix in some more black in them and it is looking nice. The only complaint about this kit is that the FW doors do not fit the FW openings on the extra armor. the door is a little smaller. It would be better if it were larger. It is easier to make the door smaller at this sage than to make the opening smaller. I could fill the gap with green stuff, but decided to skip it.

One of the doors was warped and I thought that I could just glue it in and have that fix it. Unfortunately, I glued my fingers to it and peeled off quite a bit of paint both off the door and the hull. This was easily fixed by adding more weathering. Hard to tell anything happened.

You'll notice that I swapped the smoke stacks for some bits from the Manufactorum terrain set. I did this because when I got these Rhinos, they were used and the stacks were damaged and gummed up with paint. I sawed all of them off and replaced them. I like the different look but it is also functional. when I flip the vehicle over when/if it gets blown up, the larger stacks hold the FW spikes off the table so they do not get broken.

On the table now - Weathering the Rhino

I ain't happy. Nope. Not one bit. I tried to do some chipping and weathering by painting Charadon Granite on the metal parts and it turned out awful. I have since painted over the CG parts with Chainmail. I've decided that a very light drybrush of Mithril Silver over the whole model and MS strategically painted in places. I have to make sure to not do all the hard edges because that will make it look shiny and not chipped. 

The key to making hard edge highlighting look like weathering is to make it random. I am ok at this but I still tend to do it in a broken but predictable pattern. This is very obvious on my scratch titan. You'll see when/if I post pictures of it.

On the table now - Damned Rhino

I feel like I have been working on this damned thing for an eternity. That is the biggest hurdle for me and painting vehicles. They take so much time. This is a pretty simple color scheme and yet it is still taking forever.
 

I am starting weathering now. Chipping the black and gold is easy but weathering the silver is proving difficult. I am going to try some chips of Charadon Granite and see how that works. After that, I need to glue on the smoke stacks and FW spikes and it is done. In my down time of waiting for stuff to dry, I painted up some pretty awesome combi-bolter hatches. You'll have to wait to see them until it is finished though. Patience.

Rumormongering. GeeDub style.

 GW has a strange relationship with their fans especially regarding their release schedule. They do not tell their fans what they are working on until it is 2 weeks from hitting the shelves. given the short memory and attention span of the average gamer, who can blame them. Promoting something that is not available for months is a waste of money when they know we're gonna buy it anyway.


When they try to stir up excitement, it is pretty weak and flaccid attempts. There was this one a while back for the Necron release. We all knew it was coming and what ti was. The mystery was wasted on everyone but perhaps the very young or the very unplugged. It was nice to know what was coming, but at the same time, it gave us nothing useful. More excitement could have been drummed up by giving us a taste of what was to come rather than having someone tell us that they smelled something in the kitchen.

Old School because I am an old fool.

When they do give us a good hard look at what is to come before it is out, I find it hard to get excited. For the 25th anniversary model, they put out a video that tried to whip up a frenzy and establish its value, but this was completely lost on me. I started 40k at the tail end of 3rd Ed and never saw the marine on the cover of Rogue Trader. It means nothing to me and thus no nostalgia. I think the cover art is lackluster but on par with the art of the time. The model does not do much for me either. I mean, it is ok but nothing spectacular. It's just as fancy as a Sternguard or Vanguard vet. It got some other people excited but just for me I was unimpressed.

That brings up to GW's latest attempt at stirring up excitement while not really telling us what we are excited about.

"OMG 145! I don't know what it is but I want to preorder one now!"

I wonder how many people would preorder a 145 if you did put it up for preorder. GW should try that one day.

I went to GW site after a long time of being away and scrolled down the What's New blog. I saw this post. I see the 145 on the cover art and click it. Que the tension music and exciting reveal of the numbers. By the end all I could think was, "...so?" The big secret that they were building up to is just a number and even that was on the cover art. Why make a video if you are going to give away your ending before it even starts. Seems pointless.

And the big super secret is not hard to figure out. Citadel shield and a paint splatter? Warlord683 put it together pretty fast over on LJ. It's paint. Big buildup and all this fanfare for them putting out new paint. Big whoop. Do they think that this kind of rumormongering is going to up their sales? Do they think that telling us that they are going sell less old paint if they tell us that they are making new paint?

Heck, I'd go and buy up all the paints I like if I knew they were going away. I'd clean them out. That would help them clear out their backstock and generate revenue. Maybe I am missing something about their model that makes it in their best interest to act this way, but it is lost on me. I am not a businessman and have a hard time understanding the reasoning of them.

Hatin on BoLS - Strawmanning nothing

I don't have a whole lot of time but wanted to get this out fast.

http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2012/03/goatboy-40k-in-defense-of-assault.html

So the new plan is to make an outrageous and erroneous claim then tear it apart. I have seen people construct some pretty flimsy straw man arguments, but I have never seen anyone pick a fight at nothing. I would tear apart his argument, but Goatboy does not deserve that kind of attention. He is like Gish and will just spew out as much nonsense as he has air in his lungs. Trying to correct him takes 10x the time and energy and by the time you have addressed his third wrong point, he has made 40 posts full of more half-baked ideas.

It is sad that this cretin has a microphone he can scream into.

Finished - EC Champ

 

I finished the Emperor's Children Champion tonight and he turned out ok. I have not really changed anyof my techniques since I did the last EC Champion. I do more of the hard edge highlighting on the sword after the green wash now and that makes it look a little more glowy and sharp rather than a big block of green metal.

The pink is done the same way. Mechrite Red > 1:2 Mechrite to Bleached Bone. Then I wash Baal Red. After that I just touch up with the 1:2 mix. If I mess something up I can always wash it again.

On the table now - IW Rhino and EC Champ

Everybody scream to feel good!

Finished the BA Rhino and am plowing on with the IW Rhino. It is slow going because I really did not plan out the color scheme before I started. I had completely forgotten to incorporate the black from the IW shoulder pads into the design of the Rhino. I went a little crazy especially on the front with the black but that will help me out in the weathering stage. Since I am not planning to wash the whole model, it is going to be hard to show dents and dings in the metal when it is the same color. I can try black chips but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. 

Also not planned for was the magnets. My Chaos Rhinos are just going to be Rhinos. No need to convert them to Predators and thus no need to magnetize the back hatch or the doors. I need to magnetize the gun hatches on the front to swap out combi-bolters. I really need to sink some magnets in right now for smoke launchers.

The Emperor's Children Champion is coming along really well. He should be finished by the end of today. I am really liking this new plan of working on a vehicle and a infantry model at the same time. It is preventing me from getting too frustrated with the vehicles. 

Big Basing Day

Ok, quick and dirty.

Remember how much crap I got done last year? Well, I have not glued any grass to anything in 18 months. that means that everything in those pictures, had to have glue and static grass applied to it.

It took all day and I am covered in static grass. this stuff is really itchy.

I typically do this stage in big batches at at the CLGS because of the mess. I don't want to find static grass stuck all over the place for months afterwards. That grass also makes spray painting of any kind troubling. I can't tell you the number of times I have found those hairs in my primer or clear coat. It is infuriating!

While at the CLGS I even got in a game against a friend's Space Wolves. He played a pretty simple list. He managed to have a Land Raider in a 1000 point list. That should have been some free points there but I was playing the Grey Knights and my only AT was Thunder Hammers and the Vindicare Assassin. Ole Vinnie was mowed down by a Heavy Bolter on Turn 1. It would have been a different game if Vinnie had been able to shoot. In retrospect, I should have deployed him in such a way that the tanks would have had to move forward to shoot him and he could have shot at them.

I ran Vinnie, Crowe, two squads of 10 Purifiers and 5 Termies. Not Paladins, just Termies. I ran the Termies with Crown and one squad of Purifiers forward to get at his objective and kept the other 10 man squad on my objective. In retrospect, I should have broken the Purifiers up into Combat Squads, and kept 5 men on my objective.

In the end, he chewed up lots of my men but never went for the objective. I was the only one trying to win. But I made it look like I was trying to win and that is what tricked him. He spent so much of his time shooting my advancing forces and not advancing himself that he lost the advantage. On the record it was a tie but really it was a loss for me. I committed a lot of troops and gained no ground. I feel like the Soviets in WWII.

I also got some Sanguinary Guard despite the Embargo. I was gonna get blue wash and Sang Guard anyway but I let the GW guy try to talk me into all kinds of crap. After the fact, I was a little disappointed in him. He sees all the stuff I have and tries to sell me more. He tried to sell me big box  Fantasy stuff and stuff for armies that I did not have. I guess he is not used to making an actual sale.

I am used to this treatment from GW employees. It is like they are spoiled as salesmen because they sling plastic crack. anyone that comes into their store that has bought before IS going to buy from them again. They do not have to establish quality or really talk anyone into buying anything. The old crew knew not to try to sell me stuff but this latest crop has yet to learn the rules.

Battlefoam and storing your bits in a sneaky way

Cut with friggen Lasers! Pew pew!

Grr Battlefoam! Why are you so awesome?!?!?!

I've had a $100 credit at Battlefoam for over a year to finally get some foam transport for my awesomely painted Tiny Metal Men. I have the credit and kind of know what I want. The problem is getting the foam to hold all the bits and pieces for my vehicles.

Let me back up.

My Rhinos have crazy magnets in them. Each turret, the HK missile, smoke launchers and dozer blade are all magnetized. With the addition of a couple magnets in the corners of the rear hatch, I change it between a Rhino and a Pred/Razorback. That means that I not only have the Rhino model but all these bits floating around. Fitting all those bits into the foam is problematic.

On the table now - IW Rhinos and EC Champion

 

Back to work on the CSMs. I've these Rhinos and the accompanying Forge World extra armor bits on my table for at least a year. They are always there looking at me. Judging. I even got the Iron Warrior front bits and doors. I started from a black primer and undercoated the whole Rhino with Boltgun Metal before attaching the armor. After gluing on the armor, I gave it a pretty heavy drybrush (bordering on an overbrush) of Chainmail paying special attention to the armor bits that were still black. I'll go over the whole model with a drybrush of Chainmail using a bigger brush. That should sufficiently brighten the model. After that, I'll paint on the gold with Shining Gold. I do not know how I am going to handle the washing. I may dilute some Dev Mud and use a friend's spray gun to wash the whole thing. Regardless, I'll need to paint on Badab Black into the places where I want deeper shadows. 

Painting large models is much different than paining infantry. You have to be extra careful on how you shade and highlight them. Also, they require a fair amount of weathering or they just look funny. No tank in service looks fresh and clean. they are always scuffed and beaten up a bit. Luckily that is pretty easy to do with most colors. When your whole tank is metal, that makes it hard. If I just do Mithril it won't show up. I'll have to look over on Cool Mini or Not for ideas.

Dur hur Caption "Contest"

"I think someone is going to get shot in the head."

This nonsense drives me nuts at BoLS. For starters, if there is no winner, it is not a contest. It ends up being just a bunch of nerds coming up with inane "funny" stuff to say to equally inane pictures. There are occasional pearls but they are not worth drowning in the sea of groaners.

I get why BoLS continues to do them. The posts appear popular. Nerds want to chime in and be the popular and funny one. They generate hits and comments, but they are not content. There is nothing of substance or useful in them. They are fluff only devoid of substance and that is why I dislike them. 

On the table - Draigo and Rhino

Slow going but closing in on finished.


EDIT: Rhino is finished as is Draigo's body. Working on the arms right now.